When to use
Load this when laying out HUD or menu nodes. Text content stays on bevy-ui-text. Colors and widget styling stay on bevy-ui-theming.
ECS shape
- Nodes: spawn
Nodeentities. Children are child entities. Flexbox and CSS Grid are fields onNode. - Widgets:
ui_widgets::Buttonplus thePressedmarker for the held state.ImageNodefor a texture. Text content stays onbevy-ui-text. - Systems: layout is engine-owned. Game systems read
PressedandComputedNode. They do not run a second layout pass.
A column fills the window. The button is a child with a fixed size. BackgroundColor is the fill. BorderRadius rounds the control.
use bevy::ui_widgets::Button;
fn spawn_menu(mut commands: Commands) { let root = commands .spawn(Node { width: Val::Percent(100.0), height: Val::Percent(100.0), flex_direction: FlexDirection::Column, justify_content: JustifyContent::Center, align_items: AlignItems::Center, row_gap: Val::Px(12.0), ..default() }) .id(); commands.spawn(( Button, Node { width: Val::Px(180.0), height: Val::Px(48.0), justify_content: JustifyContent::Center, align_items: AlignItems::Center, border_radius: BorderRadius::all(CornerRadius::circular(Val::Px(6.0))), ..default() }, BackgroundColor(Color::srgb(0.15, 0.15, 0.15)), ChildOf(root), )); }
pub struct MenuPlugin;
impl Plugin for MenuPlugin { fn build(&self, app: &mut App) { app.add_systems(Startup, spawn_menu); } }
One system writes `BackgroundColor` from the `Pressed` marker. That marker is the only signal this system reads, so it is the only writer of the button fill.
```rust
use bevy::ui::Pressed;
use bevy::ui_widgets::Button;
fn paint_buttons(mut buttons: Query<(&mut BackgroundColor, Has<Pressed>), With<Button>>) {
for (mut color, pressed) in &mut buttons {
*color = if pressed {
BackgroundColor(Color::srgb(0.35, 0.75, 0.35))
} else {
BackgroundColor(Color::srgb(0.15, 0.15, 0.15))
};
}
}
A grid names its tracks on the parent. Each child sets grid_row and grid_column.
fn spawn_grid(mut commands: Commands) {
let root = commands
.spawn(Node {
display: Display::Grid,
width: Val::Percent(100.0),
height: Val::Px(200.0),
grid_template_columns: vec![GridTrack::flex(1.0), GridTrack::px(120.0)],
grid_template_rows: vec![GridTrack::auto()],
column_gap: Val::Px(8.0),
..default()
})
.id();
commands.spawn((
Node {
grid_column: GridPlacement::start(1),
grid_row: GridPlacement::start(1),
..default()
},
BackgroundColor(Color::srgb(0.2, 0.2, 0.4)),
ChildOf(root),
));
}
An image is ImageNode plus a sized Node. The handle comes from AssetServer.
fn spawn_icon(mut commands: Commands, assets: Res<AssetServer>) {
let image = assets.load("icons/sword.png");
commands.spawn((
ImageNode::new(image),
Node {
width: Val::Px(64.0),
height: Val::Px(64.0),
..default()
},
));
}
Widget map
| Need | Bevy idiom |
|---|---|
| Column or row | A Node entity. Children are child entities via ChildOf |
| Button | ui_widgets::Button plus the Pressed marker |
| Image | ImageNode sized by Node |
| Grid | Display::Grid, GridTrack, GridPlacement |
Scope
- Flex fields used above:
flex_direction,justify_content,align_items,row_gap. Grid fields:display,grid_template_columns,grid_template_rows,grid_column,grid_row. bevy_feathersis a styled widget collection for editors. Game HUDs useNode,Button, andImageNode.
Expert Knowledge Delta
Target: Bevy 0.20+.
Core ECS types: Component, Resource, Query, Commands, Startup, Update, Fixed / FixedMain (bevy::time), .chain(), Plugin, DefaultPlugins, MinimalPlugins. Messages and observers are an ownership slot. See bevy-events-messaging for their APIs. Systems run in parallel unless .chain() orders the ones that conflict.
Who owns state
| Piece | Owner | Who may mutate | Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data on one entity | Component |
One system via Query |
Update or FixedMain |
| One value for the whole app | Resource |
One system | Startup to insert, then the schedule that reads it |
| Spawn | Commands |
The spawning system | Startup for the initial world; later schedules for runtime spawn |
| Order that must not race | .chain() |
The chained systems only | Same schedule |
| Plugin boundary | Plugin |
build registers systems and resources |
Before the app runs |
Borrow rule: two systems that both mutably query the same component must be ordered (.chain()) or split so only one writes. Unrelated systems stay parallel. That is the ECS page rule, not a guess at a system-set API.
Decision
| If you need | Do this | Do not |
|---|---|---|
| Per-entity data | Component + Query |
A free-floating struct outside the World |
| App-wide config or clock | Resource |
Copy the value onto every entity |
| Stable simulation step | FixedMain and the Fixed clock |
Tie simulation to raw frame Update |
| Startup spawn | Commands in Startup |
Spawn from a render system |
| Cross-system notice that is not shared state | Message or observer slot in bevy-events-messaging |
A new event type invented in this file |
| An API outside the documented set | Check the official docs first | A made-up crate or API |
Load references/ecs-ownership.md for the ownership table.
NEVER
-
Do not pin
/0.20.0/in docs URLs. WHY: links stay onlatest; the 0.20 target is stated once in prose. -
Do not mutably query the same component from two unordered systems. WHY: the schedule runs systems in parallel unless
.chain()orders them. -
Do not invent a physics, navigation, networking, or XR crate here. WHY: this skill only names documented Bevy crates and modules.
-
No control-tree anchors or container nodes. WHY: layout is
Nodefields,ChildOf, andComputedNode. -
No invented APIs or unnamed third-party crates as the chosen solver. WHY: Bevy code stays idiomatic ECS and uses only documented Bevy APIs.
Reference
The library pin on bevy-master stays 0.20.
Official Documentation
- Assets - Official asset catalog.
- Examples - Example tree on the
latestbranch. - ECS -
Component, systems,Query,Startup,Update, and.chain(). - Plugins -
Plugin,DefaultPlugins,MinimalPlugins, andadd_plugins. - UI examples -
Node, Flexbox, grid, buttons, and images.
Related Skills
Prerequisites
- bevy-master - Hub and schedules.
- bevy-ecs-composition - Components and systems.
Complements
- bevy-ui-text - Text on a node.
- bevy-ui-theming - Colors and backgrounds.
Downstream / consumers
- bevy-ui-text - Consumes layout nodes.
Master
- bevy-master - Bevy router.